How Sanjay Dutt Came Up With Khalnayak Returns

'Khal Nayak is a film that is close to my heart and even today, it is remembered with fondness.'
'It has been a long-cherished dream of mine to be able to revive this film.'

Sanjay Dutt Announces Khalnayak Returns

Sanjay Dutt is set to bring back a blast from the past as he steps into one of his most iconic roles from the 1990s.

On Friday, April 24, 2026, the actor unveiled a project that had been quietly in the works for years. The long-guarded secret was revealed as Khalnayak Returns, described as a "fresh interpretation" of the 1993 blockbuster, Khal Nayak.

The original film, directed and produced by Subhash Ghai, had starred Sanjay Dutt as the iconic anti-hero Ballu Balram, alongside Jackie Shroff and Madhuri Dixit.

Speaking to the media, Dutt said Khalnayak Returns isn't just a revisit, but a "long-cherished dream" finally coming to life.

"Khal Nayak is a film that is close to my heart and even today, it is remembered with fondness. It has been a long-cherished dream of mine to be able to revive this film and so we have legally acquired the rights for it," Dutt shared.

How Khalnayak Returns Shaped Up

The roots of Khalnayak Returns trace back to an unlikely place.

Dutt revealed that while serving his term in Yerawada jail, he began shaping the idea to take the story of Khal Nayak forward.

"In jail, I asked everyone around me who will be interested to watch it. And the 4,000 inmates said they would. I asked them to write one page about it and it took me a while to read all the 4,000 pages," he said.

The actor shared that once he had the basic story for Khalnayak Returns in place, he reached out to Subhash Ghai to discuss it. During his parole, he visited Ghai and narrated the idea, which instantly excited the filmmaker.

WATCH: Sanjay Dutt talks about his time in jail.

Subhash Ghai Won't Direct The Sequel

The film is being mounted on a large scale, with Dutt's Three Dimension Motion Pictures teaming up with Aspect Entertainment and Jio Studios. The rights to the original have been officially acquired from Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts.

While Ghai made it clear he wouldn't return to the director's chair, he shared that he himself advised Dutt to bring a 'good director' on board to helm the sequel.

"You cannot ask Sunil Gavaskar to play Virat. Sunil Gavaskar is Sunil Gavaskar," Ghai said, looking lovingly at Dutt. "Everyone has a stage and age, but the excitement and passion remain the same. I will always be with him whenever he needs me, at any stage."

Sanjay Dutt's Gritty Makeover In Khalnayak Returns

The announcement came with a teaser for Khalnayak Returns that set the tone right away. It shows Dutt in a rugged, bloodied and battered avatar with long hair, reminiscent of Ranveer Singh's look in Dhurandhar.

The teaser ends with Khal Nayak Hoon Main playing in the background, instantly bringing back the nostalgia.

Maanayata Dutt, who was also present, shared her excitement, saying the teaser gave her "goosebumps". She added that discussions around the sequel had been going on for over a decade, making the announcement all the more special for her and her husband.

WATCH: Maanayata Dutt's favourite Sanjay Dutt movies.

While the teaser has sparked curiosity, much about the film remains under wraps. Details about other cast members, storyline, and the director of the film are yet to be disclosed.

"This teaser has teased me too much. It has teased my creativity, it has teased my status, it has teased me to be inspired to become a director again," Subhash Ghai said with a smile.

The veteran filmmaker added that when he wrote Sanjay Dutt's anti-hero character in Khal Nayak, he always saw him as a "tragic hero" carrying deep inner pain. He revealed that his distributors were initially unhappy with the title, but he stood by it and kept it unchanged.

The Subhash Ghai-Sanjay Dutt Friendship

Ghai has known Dutt since he was a 20 year old, adding that the actor wasn't "very serious" about acting in his early days. Things changed after Dutt worked with Dilip Kumar in the 1982 film Vidhaata, where he began to understand his potential as an actor and started taking the craft more seriously.

"I could see that progress in him from there on with films like Sadak, Saajan, and so on. I thought to myself, 'Arre yeh toh serious actor ban gaya hain'."

Recalling fond memories of Khal Nayak, Ghai said that when he began writing the script, several big stars of that time approached him wanting to play Ballu. But he had already decided on Sanjay Dutt.

"I called him one day and narrated the story," he said.

At this point, Dutt jumped in to playfully correct Ghai, recalling that the director never really narrated the story to him and instead simply told him, 'You have to do this film.'

"I did not narrate the story to you?" Ghai asked curiously.

"Back then, we worked on mutual trust, nowadays even studio people ask for a bound script," Ghai said, pointing towards Jio Studios' Jyoti Deshpande.

"There was a time when we didn't even share scripts with actors, but it was all based on trust. Filmmakers would put their life into the script, and actors knew that, and that's why they trusted us."

When he worked with Dutt on Khal Nayak, Ghai recalled he saw a completely transformed actor. He recalled how Dutt would shoot till 2:30 am to finish his scenes, never complaining once, which deeply impressed him.

WATCH: Subhash Ghai on Sanjay Dutt's evolution as an actor.

With sequels of his films being a hot topic, a curious journalist asked Sanjay Dutt whether other iconic characters like those from Vaastav and Munnabhai would also see follow-ups.

Vaastav 2, Dutt revealed, is already in the pipeline.

"As for Munnabhai, you have to ask Raju Hirani."